Voltron: Seeing Red
by plaidred
Summary: Exhausted after their last battle against the Galran Empire the Castle lands on an uninhabited planet for some much needed repairs, and more importantly, for some much needed rest & relaxation. The Red Lion has been acting up as of late, refusing to follow the will of its Paladin, and Keith is on edge. Meanwhile, Pidge intercepts a cryptic message from deep space...
1. Chapter 1

"I can't hold it much longer!"

Red lights flashed, bathing the control room of the Castle with their ominous glare. Warnings in Altean flashed across the screen, so many overlapping that they were becoming increasingly illegible. An annoying sound belted out loudly and constantly over the sound system of the ship. The shrill 'whee-ooo whee-ooo' sound effect only added to her anguish. _If we live through this I'm going to have to have a word with Coran about following Lance's ideas._ A bead of sweat trickled down Princess Allura's brow as she struggled to maintain her footing, her hands clutched tightly to the control pedestals beside her. The Castle lurched violently as the ship dropped out of the wormhole. The princess gritted her teeth as the motion threw her clear of the command deck. She landed hard, feeling an instant shot of hot pain through her elbow, but her thoughts were not filled with concern for herself. "Is everyone alright?" Allura called out strongly, the purple communication earrings dangling from her dark pointed ears began to glow as responses came in.

"I'm okay!" A bright, tentative voice responded. In its hangar the smallest cat of the group, small by Voltron's standards anyways, took a seat as the ship began to level out after the drop from hyperspace. The green lion dropped to its stomach to make it easier for its pilot, also the smallest of the group, to exit. Pidge affectionately gave Green a little pat on the nose as they climbed out through the robot's mouth. "Thanks Green!" Pidge was always surprised by how considerate the robot was. Though intellectually gifted Pidge was still a long ways from discovering the secrets of the Lions' artificial (if indeed it was manufactured) intelligence.

"Uhh….let's not do that again. Ever." Hunk, Paladin of the yellow lion, was getting better at his motion sickness, but a ride like they just had was enough to have him tasting goo a second time. A light rumble came from Yellow as it protested Hunk's impending sickness, as if to say ' _don't you dare throw up in me again.'_ Yellow quickly opened it's mouth and all but spit Hunk out. The young man protested as he skid a few feet on his ample buttocks. "Hey, what was that for?" The yellow Paladin raised an arm in protest, but quickly retracted the limb to cover his mouth as he felt the familiar gurgle rising from inside. _No no no!_ He cried to himself as he scrambled to his feet and made his way to the nearest receptacle in the hangar. Hunk wasn't quite sure where the chute led, but he sure hoped it was for trash. Yellow shook its head up and down with a muffled roar that could only be taken as laughter. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up Leg." Hunk glared at his compatriot before bending double over the receptacle again. Goo always looked the same, going in or out, a feature of the Altean food that was most unsettling.

"All good here." Shiro cringed as he heard the tell tale sound of Hunk's retching over the intercom. With the grace and dignity befitting the leader of an intergalactic war hero the Black Lion strode to its resting place in the hangar. Shiro found that in times like these if he left the control up to Black that it was always obedient, as though it knew where Shiro wanted it to be without telling it. Shiro easily climbed down from Black's open mouth, sliding down a well placed foreleg to the floor. The leader of the Paladins removed his helmet, his broad shoulders heaving with a sigh of relief. Shiro had not been born a fighter, he was a pilot foremost, an explorer to be sure, and a scientist if it called for it; he was slightly disturbed how well the mantle of leader fit him. This was never a role that he had dreamed he would fill. Shiro gazed up at his partner Black, the hangar lights glistening off of its metallic body imbuing it with a certain majesty.

"I bid mai ton. I bid mai ton!" The Paladin of the blue lion shrieked with overly dramatic agony. Lance stuck out his tongue and looked at the red marks that dotted its surface, a little bit of blood trickling to its tip.

"You wouldn't have bit your tongue if you kept your mouth shut." A curt response cut through Lance's mellow dramatics.

"Ethuse me. Eth you don teep jour moth thut then ima thum thut it thor you." Lance made a jab in the air, miming the punch he would deliver to his insulter if they were face to face. Blue shook its head slowly, a small sigh of a roar filling the hangar. Opening its mouth Blue deposited its foolish Paladin safely on the ground and went to its corner to sit.

"Bite me." Came the quick response.

"Ohhh, dith you wait Teith, wait unthil you thay that to mai thace."

"Paladins, please." Allura pleaded as she pulled herself up, rubbing her smarting elbow as she did so. Her graceful white eyebrows were tightly knotted on her forehead as she made her way to the command console. Though she managed to shut off the annoying Lance siren that had somehow made its way into the Castle's emergency program many of the display screens were still flashing red. They were not out of the woods yet. "Status reports. Please." She said firmly.

"I'm fine." A tired voice reported from the red hanger. Keith had already exited Red, which sat with its back to its Paladin. Its long metal tail was clicking on the floor as it flipped the tip of it back and forth. Keith removed his helmet and closed his eyes as he flicked his head back, his mop of black hair, damp from helmet sweat, swished away from his face. The feeling of freedom was momentary as Keith turned off the intercom on his helmet.

"And just what was that about?" Keith stared angrily up at his Lion companion. Red turned its massive head away from the boy and stared aimlessly into an empty corner. "Trying to get me killed, damn cat." Keith muttered under his breath, he let the helmet fall from his fingers and clatter uselessly to the floor. Rage flushing his face Keith exited the hangar, ripping off bits of his armor as he went. At that moment it felt too constricting. He wanted to breathe, take a long walk, get some fresh air, but this is space, there is no such thing as room to breathe. Keith took some frustration out on the hallway, his fist not even denting the metallic wall plating as he released a furious punch. Closing his eyes the Red pilot attempted to slow his breathing and calm his rage.

"Paladins, when you are able to, I need you in the control room." Allura urged haste as she filtered through the warning screens. A loud moan across the room distracted her for a moment. "Coran, now is no time to be laying down on the job." She chided, her calm voice iced with displeasure.

"Of course, Princess." Coran nodded despite the ache in his neck, he rubbed the back of his head as he stood up, blinking back the sparks that danced in his eyes. "Pardon me Princess, I seem to have hit my head. May have blacked out for the teeniest tiniest of ticks..." Coran gestured with his white gloved hand, index and thumb just a finger's width apart as he indicated the small amount of consciousness he may or may not have lost. "...but what happened just now?" Coran's eyes grew wide as he noticed all the alarm signals.

Allura's body stiffened with agitation, her eyebrows remained furrowed as she glared at her advisor. Her lips tightened as she prepared her words, when suddenly four brightly colored mice climbed up her arm and scampered to her shoulder. The mice rubbed their faces against her cheek and squeaked soothingly. The Altean mice, having spent thousands of years in deep sleep with the Princess had become telepathically linked. Sensing her distress the mice had rushed to her side. Allura let out a deep breath, releasing some of the tension she didn't realize she had been holding. _Thank you for reminding me, friends._ Allura gently patted the mice on their soft heads. The mice smiled and nodded. _The path of kindness is the Altean way._

Princess Allura looked back at her long time friend, advisor, and fellow surviving Altean. Her expression was greatly softened. "We were outnumbered, remember? The Galrans are growing more bold in their traps. We barely just escaped, but the Castle was too bad of shape to make the entire jump, I had to fall out of the wormhole early."

Coran made his way to his Princess's side, immensely glad that she had calmed down somewhat. Though he cherished the Princess dearly her wrath was not always her most charming feature. Coran began to type onto a control console, bringing up a star chart on the main viewing screen. "Which begs the question then...where are we?" Coran went unanswered as the door to the control room swooshed open and five pairs of feet entered.

"Thor tho mean Teith." The Blue Paladin was still wearing his armor. He stuck his tongue out of his mouth to emphasize his minor injury. He was leaning on the Red Paladin Keith, who had stripped off his upper armor and only wore a loose grey t-shirt that had been on underneath.

"Shut it, moron." Keith pushed Lance off of him. Lance stumbled sideways into the original Engineer of his crew. Lance's eyes watered as he looked to Hunk for sympathy. Pidge craned on their toes to get a glimpse of Lance's tongue. Lance looked sideways at Keith to see if the Red Paladin would notice the attention he was receiving. Lance snorted with annoyance as Keith was clearly ignoring him and leaned casually against the wall.

"You'll be fine. Just keep your tongue in your mouth." Pidge diagnosed and adjusted their glasses. "If you put something cold on it might help the pain."

Shiro half smiled down at the kid in the green armor as he passed by. He was resisting the urge to ruffle the Paladin's brown hair, a habit which Pidge had recently admonished him for. ' _No one will respect me as a Paladin if you keep treating me like your kid brother!'_ Shiro held back a chuckle as he remembered the conversation. Shiro cleared his throat as he set his black helmet down on a nearby control panel, onto more serious conversations. "Everyone needs to cool it. That battle was a disaster." Keith fidgeted uncomfortably as he felt Shiro's eyes bore into him as he spoke. "We're never going to defeat Zarkon's forces if we can't keep Voltron's form when we need it most." Again, his eyes drifted towards the boy with the messy black hair and sweaty black t-shirt.

Keith kicked a foot back against the wall as he leaned, crossing his arms defensively across his chest. Two could play at the glare game, and he matched his leader's fiery gaze. "It wasn't my fault. Red has a mind of his own sometimes…" He said in measured speech, trying to keep his anger in control.

Princess Allura walked through the Paladins to Keith's side. Recognizing the fire of the Red Lion resonating in the young man she put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "The Red Lion is temperamental, but I have faith that you are a good partner for him. Keith, the Red Lion chose you." She smiled in attempt to diffuse the tension in the air.

Keith was slightly taken aback. He wasn't used to such kindness, especially from a beautiful woman. Keith had always been a loner, he still wasn't used to living with this many people, let alone a girl. The emotions and complex relationships of living and working beside the same people day after day were beginning to wear down his nerves. "Maybe you should have a little less faith." He reached up and brushed the Princess's delicate hand from his shoulder. Allura's face was crestfallen, she wasn't sure what to say.

"Ah-hah!" The loud exclamation startled everyone. Allura quickly turned to face Coran, the advisor was excitedly waving his hands through star charts when he stopped and pointed. "I know exactly where we are." Coran beamed, the corners of his mustache curling up as he smiled with pleasure.

"Where?" Allura's voice was almost a whisper, her heart too hopeful as she clutched a hand to her chest. She approached Coran, Shiro and Pidge following close behind.

Coran planted his finger exuberantly on the screen. "We are in the exact middle of nowhere." Allura blinked with surprise, surely not the answer she was expecting.

"Meaning….?" She prodded Coran to continue whatever train of thought was rapidly derailing in his injured mind.

"Meaning it's perfect. I was looking at the damage logs Princess. We took quite a beating this last round, if we were to meet another Galran ship in this shape we wouldn't stand a chance. We need extensive repairs, and a place to do those repairs that is well out of site of the Empire." Coran continued to grin excitedly.

Pidge examined the star map that Coran had up. They had begun to learn some Altean and some of the strange symbols were beginning to make sense. "It doesn't look like there's a civilized planet for parsecs." If Pidge agreed with Coran's opinion more people were inclined to believe it.

"There's a nice one right here...green planet, the atmosphere reads good to breathe for both humans and Alteans. We can set her down and really get some of the dents out." Coran displayed a planet that statistically looked habitable.

Allura shook her head. "Coran, we have bigger concerns than dents." She felt her blood pressure rising again, a fact that did not go unnoticed by her mice friends as they again sniffed at her cheeks.

"My dear Princess, that is what you call a figure of speech." Coran made a gesture at Lance, something the Blue Paladin had recently taught him, a closed fist with the thumb digit straight up. Lance returned the gesture, a wicked smile on his face. For an old man the Altean was learning well the ways of the smooth talking human.

"I think we could all use a little land under our feet." Shiro agreed as he surveyed his team. They all looked exhausted. A frown crossed Shiro's face as he saw Keith leave the control room. Team Voltron lacked experience and discipline, but those could come later. For now a little breathing room would do them all good.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ok, so today we have a treat: goo, with a side of - get this - orange goo." No one laughed as Hunk set down the platter of food on the table. Hunk cracked a wide smile, at least he found his own joke funny. The Yellow Paladin hummed an upbeat tune to himself as he began to spoon giant globs of the viscous nutrition paste onto individual plates. No one seemed eager to reach for their spoons, Coran and Allura included.

"Orange you say?" Coran rubbed his mustache as he studied the portion on his plate, carefully dissecting the colors from one another. "Must be a kink in the ol' food tube. I've never seen this color before." He observed as he raised a spoonful up to his nose and gave a hearty sniff. Even by Altean standards he had to admit that this food stuff was largely unappealing.

Pidge, curious to learn more braved a bite. Pidge took a long time on that first bite, slowly mashing the substance back and forth. Their eyebrow rose curiously as their tongue attempted to place the unusual flavor. Finally they swallowed and waited a solid moment, the entire table was quietly watching, waiting. When there appeared to be no ill effect a nervous smile broke across Pidge's face. "It kind of reminds me of mashed potatoes...carrot flavored mashed potatoes." The scientist struggled to find the right word to describe the taste. It wasn't exactly carrot or potato like at all, Pidge couldn't even classify the substance as a vegetable, but there was truthfully no other comparison to Earth food that they could think of.

Shiro anxiously waited a good minute after Pidge's first bite before taking a sample of his own. Closing his eyes he forced the gelatinous mix down his throat. It didn't taste anything like potatoes or carrots. "If there's one thing I miss about Earth it's a good bag of potato chips." Shiro smiled kindly as he reminisced, hoping by some strange will power to make himself believe that the food before him tasted edible. The uneasiness from the control room seemed to have followed them to the mess hall. The entire crew had decided that before starting on the ship's repairs they should sit down and take a moment to relax and eat, though perhaps eat was a strong word. Shiro felt the familiar knot in his stomach as it reacted to the second mouthful of goo.

The Yellow Paladin and self proclaimed cook paused mid bite, the spoon half ways to his lips. His dark eyes grew misty as a sudden realization came upon him. His gloved hand drooped with melancholy, the spoon nestling back into the goo mountain on his plate. Hunk looked down at his lap for a good moment, Shiro worried that perhaps he had said something wrong, when the Paladin looked back up there was a determination in his eyes. "If there was one thing I wished I could have brought with me from Earth...it would be an entire Lion full of potatoes!" He declared with a feisty smile, his nostrils flaring with excitement.

Lance, sitting to the left of his Engineer friend placed his hand on Hunk's shoulder and nodded his head in solidarity. "And then we could have all sorts of food! Potato chips! Baked potatoes! Mashed potatoes!" Hunk continued.

Lance bobbed his head in punctuation with Hunk's proclamation. "Mm-hmm, preach it brother!" After the initial shock and dramatics with his injured tongue Lance had found he could now speak normally again, although the words did smart as he spoke.

Tears began to stream from Hunk's eyes. "French Fries! Poutine!"

Lance's eye's snapped open and he removed his hand from his fellow Paladin. "Ok, you lost me. Poo what?"

Hunk tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at his comrade in a new light. "Poutine. You know, the fries with the cheese curds and gravy?" Hunk gestured with his hefty hands in the hope that somehow a wave of his hands could convey the dish he was craving.

Lance shook his head and resigned himself to sampling some of the goo. "If I could go back to Earth and actually pack for this journey I would bring a lot more underwear. I've been innie-outie on this pair to the point that it's practically commando down there." Lance shrugged as he continued eating, blissfully unaware of the shocked stares around the table. No one felt hungry any more.

Pidge's face was frozen tightly with horror, mouth agape their glasses slid down their petite nose until they quickly reset the frames on their head. "Lance...haven't you used the laundry machine? It's right beside the showers…" Pidge couldn't exactly say they were surprised by Lance's revelation. Pidge had grown up with an elder brother, they knew what teenage boys did and smelled like. Since the adventure with Voltron had begun Pidge felt like they had gained a bunch of new older brothers, each uniquely disgusting in their own path to manhood.

"There's a shower?" Lance seemed honestly curious, Pidge could not tell if he was joking or not.

The screech of a plate being shoved across the table interrupted the hygiene discussion. "I've lost my appetite." Keith explained in a low voice as he stood, pushing the plate of untouched food away from his spot. "You said this planet had air right? I'm going out." Keith looked to the Alteans for confirmation as he stood.

"Wait just a moment." Shiro's voice rooted Keith in the doorway, the authoritative tone in his voice preparing Keith for a rebellious show down. Shiro's eyebrows laid lower over his eyes as he processed Keith's request. "You're not going...alone that is. This may not be a civilized planet but we don't know what's out there. You could get hurt or lost. Take Lance."

Green and orange globs of goo spewed across the table as Lance all but choked on his meal. "Why me?" His voice cracked with distress as he felt the color drain from his face. Even Lance for all his emotional ineptitude could sense that Keith was not in a good mood, and he did not fancy being in close proximity to that sour attitude. It was no fun to joke with someone who was on the breaking point of furious.

Keith agreed. "Why him?" Keith was still hopeful that Shiro would change his mind and let the Red Paladin explore on his own, but when Shiro made that disapproving face there was no swaying his resolve.

"It will certainly keep him out of the way as we make repairs." Coran delightfully concluded, smashing his fist into the palm of his hand as he guessed Shiro's line of thought. The Black Paladin glared at Coran. Part of being a leader was knowing when to spill the details of their thought process and when to keep silent. "After all, he is usually the least productive when we do any maintenance. Last time I caught him taking a nap in one of the cryo pods!" Coran laughed as he remembered how a paranoid Lance had believed the Castle was trying to kill him.

"Hey!" Lance tried to interject and defend his good name. He raised his spoon and pointed at Coran in an accusatory gesture.

"True, and it would prevent him from trying to prank or distract any of us doing hard work." Princess Allura wore a completely seriously look on her face, her index finger tucked under her chin as if hard at thought. The Princess was nodding her head, her silver-white hair bobbing with the motion as she agreed with the plan. "Overall I think it's for the best."

It seemed that the only people that didn't agree with the notion were the elected participants. Keith opened his mouth to protest but Shiro raised his metallic hand, pointer finger upright in a shushing motion. "Either go with Lance or don't go."

Keith balled his hands tightly into fists until he felt his fingernails bite into his flesh. This wasn't fair. He never asked to go on an intergalactic adventure. He never asked to be stuck with these people. And now all he wanted was a little fresh air to himself and they were imposing the utter moron on him? Keith glanced at Shiro. The leader's face had not moved, it was impassible, would not change. Keith's shoulders drooped as he let out a forceful sigh that sounded like a growl through his clenched teeth. "Fine. Come on, let's go." The Red Paladin turned to leave.

"What, now? Wait wait wait." Lance picked up his plate and shoveled a bit more goo down his throat as he stood to follow Keith. Pausing in the door Lance looked back at his team mates who had selected him as martyr. "If I don't return it's because Keith has murdered me." He said with deadpan sincerity.

Shiro sighed as the door closed behind them. He knew that Keith and Lance were a volatile mix, but they complimented each other in ways that they didn't recognize yet themselves. What one would watch out for the other would totally miss. Together they had a better chance of staying safe. ' _Tell my Mama I love her!'_ Lance could be heard calling out dramatically as he walked down the hallway. Shiro cringed, but then half smiled. Things would turn out alright. Probably.


	3. Chapter 3

"Could you maybe slow down before you get us both killed?" Lance shouted as he tightened his grip around Keith's waist. Keith's red jacket was billowing upwards in the wind slapping Lance repeatedly in the face as the two Paladins rode at a breakneck speed through the dense jungle. Lance had been opposed to the use of the small craft. It was roughly the size of an old fashioned Earthen motorcycle, though of course being Altean it hovered and was capable of moving at a velocity well beyond any Earthly vehicle could manage. This was a fact Keith seemed eager to prove as he steered the vehicle over rocks and fallen logs all the while dodging the fast approaching trees and vines which hung between them. Lance braced the forehead of his blue helmet against Keith's shoulder, he was afraid that if he looked up he would catch his head on a passing vine and that would be that - the end of Lance, the most beautiful and powerful Paladin the galaxy had ever seen.

"Not a chance." Keith smiled recklessly as he pressed his body forward leaning into the craft and urging the throttle open full bore. Keith felt hyper focused. As he raced under the canopy of the strange trees he felt the world melt away. Past and Future were replaced solely by the presence of Now; he hadn't felt this alive in weeks.

When they had explored the shuttle bay looking for a suitable craft Keith honed in on this alien bike. It was sleek with a simple steering mechanism and slightly flared bottom side, and it looked slightly dangerous, just the way he liked it. Keith didn't even care that the vehicle was clearly only built for one person. Shiro and Allura could order him around; tell him what to do and who to do it with, but this was a decision all his own. Growing up as a loner Keith was more comfortable with listening to his own advice than the orders of others. Lance kept trying to steer him towards a two person shuttle or even the Lions, but Keith was determined he was going to ride this machine.

The first thing they noticed upon opening the shuttle bay to the strange world outside was the humidity. The ship had landed on a rocky flat plane at the edge of a vast forest. On one side of the rocky outcrop the land dropped in a sharp cliff at the bottom of which laid a large misty valley filled with vegetation. Lance and Keith had started off in the direction opposite the cliff; down a gentle slope they descended into the jungle.

The trees were tall but fairly skinny, two grown people could easily reach around them and clasp hands. The bark appeared to occur in horizontal layers, though at the speed with which they were blazing through the forrest details like the texture of the bark went unnoticed by the two boys on the bike. Each tree spread out at the top with a large umbrella of long shiny green leaves. Near the base of the leaves were nestled clusters of yellow fruit. Thick dark green vines climbed up the tree trunks, wrapping themselves around the lower limbs of the trees and snaking across the forest like one long spider web.

Lance tightened his grip even further. The Paladin was mortally embarrassed that he had to ride like this sitting behind Keith. Why couldn't Keith had been reasonable and chosen a more suitable craft. Lance's death grip was beginning to hurt the driver. At first Keith could ignore his passenger, but at his current rate of body contact Keith was noticing his ribs start to hurt. Relenting slightly Keith eased back on the throttle and breathed with relief as Lance automatically loosened his grip. _Wuss._ Keith surmised. Any pilot worth their salt should have been thrilled with the speeds they were achieving. They had been riding for well over an hour now.

Keith straightened up on the seat and slowed considerably until he finally came to a stop. "W-what's wrong?" Lance stuttered, apparently winded from all the unnecessary screaming he had been doing. Keith stood and reached his arms up high, intertwining his fingers to enhance the stretch. The Red Paladin removed his helmet and placed it on the seat of the hoverbike. Keith shrugged in response to Lance's question. "Just wanted to stretch a bit. I've never seen so much green." Keith twisted to his left side and then to his right adjusting his spine after Lance had been hugging on it so tightly. Keith walked idly away from the bike and ran his hand over the bark of a nearby tree. The bark was fibrous and slightly scratchy, it reminded Keith of the shell of a coconut.

Lance also took the opportunity to stand. Removing his helmet he stared up at the vast canopy, craning his neck until he almost felt dizzy. Setting his helmet next to Keith's he too walked towards one of the trees. "Wow, it's like petting a possum." He mused with a blatantly idiotic grin as he stroked the bark.

"I'm not going to ask." Keith called out in warning. He knew by now that Lance was trying to bait him into some stupid conversation about his childhood or to make a bad joke. Keith was finally starting to unwind a bit and he was not in the mood for Lance's antics. He turned his back on his fellow Paladin and closed his eyes. Breathing deeply Keith could sense the planet. There was a rich dampness to the air which felt heavy but not oppressive. He could feel a faint cool breeze in the distance, perhaps the forest opened up somewhere nearby. There was also a distant rumbling of thunder. That suited Keith fine anyways, he was ready to head back soon. They had traveled quite some distance and while Keith had thoroughly enjoyed the ride he did not fancy getting stuck in some alien storm. "I suppose we should head back." Keith declared as he turned back to the bike.

Keith was surprised, and hated himself for being surprised. By now he should expect this. Lance had found some disgusting vine and was coiling it about his arm. The vine was a bright purple and appeared to be covered in a sheen of viscous slime. The vine was smooth and solidly built, Keith guessed it was probably a good eight inches thick at least. "What are you doing?" He finally asked as he put his helmet back on. He was not entirely sure if he wanted that question answered.

"I'm tired of goo. I want to take some of this back and see if it's edible." Lance explained as he gathered more of the long plant. "I just wish I brought a knife...I can't find an end to this."

Eager to end Lance's foolish quest Keith reached down into one of the pouches he always carried on his side and pulled out a sizeable pocket knife. Living on his own Keith had always thought he was prepared for anything. It turns out that he was prepared for _nearly_ everything, but really who can predict giant robot space cats? "Here." Keith tossed the knife to Lance who clumsily caught it, dropping half of the vine as he did so. The vine made a wet plopping sound as it hit the forest floor.

"Thanks man." Lance acknowledged as he unfolded the knife and got to work sawing at its girth. The outer shell of the fine was tough, It took Lance a few moments to hack through, and when he did he was rewarded with one of the foulest smells he had encountered in his entire life. A thick black liquid began to ooze from the cut in the shell and brought with it the most malicious scent either boy had encountered. Lance immediately dropped the vine and pinched his nose. "Oh man, definitely _not_ on the edible spectrum."

"Are you happy? Now come on." Keith grabbed a handkerchief from his other side pouch and slid it up over his face. Whatever Lance had discovered it smelled like a mixture of raw sewage and tar on a hot day. The scent even made his eyes water, it stung the air and attached itself viciously to the human's senses. Keith's annoyance level was rising back up. Why did Lance always have to mess around and break things?

"Yeah, yeah, ok." Lance complained as he wiped the ooze off of Keith's blade on nearby fern like plant and tossed the knife back to its owner. "Don't get your panties in a bunch. What's the hur-umpf!" Lance's voice cut out as he felt a thick coil wrap around his ankle and trip him unexpectedly. Surprised, Lance barely had time to stop his fall and ended up with a mouth full of dead leaves which thickly carpeted the ground. Lance shook his leg as he turned over on his back, trying to free himself from the tree root which he must of gotten tangled in. He tilted his head and scratched his scruffy brown hair, confusion clear on his face. When had the malodorous vine gotten wrapped around his leg? Lance kicked at the vine with his free foot a bit, but the more he kicked the tighter it seemed to grip. "Uh, Keith? Little help?"

The vine began to tremble and both boys heard a rustle coming from somewhere in the underbrush. It shook and wiggled and finally from a nearby bush the end of the vine came free; it popped up and hovered in the air. The movement of the purple mass had released Lance's foot. He stared dumbstruck up at it as a bulbous mass at the end of the vine turned towards the boys. There were three coal black spots on the top, the spots spun around in their sockets until they honed in on the humans with a beady black stare. Perhaps this wasn't a vine after all. Immediately below the primitive eyes was a gaping hole filled with long, curved yellow teeth. The creature widened its mouth, it's savage teeth dripping with foul smelling saliva, rattling as it released a shrill blood-curdling hiss.

"Yup! Time to go!" Lance concurred as he quickly got to his feet jumped towards the bike. The creature lunged for Lance, it's ferocious bite grazed his back ripping a long gash in his jacket. Without pausing to put on his helmet Lance assumed control of the driver's seat. His helmet was knocked off of the bike and fell to the ground, but Lance hardly noticed. Keith had no time to argue as the purple snake like creature stood up for another attack. "Floor it!" Keith commanded, sliding behind Lance just as the bike began to hover. Lance gunned the bike to full capacity. The attack vine was in pursuit. "It's gaining on us!" Keith watched with horror as the creature, who they could not see end from end, was fast pursuing them through the forest. It seemed to ricochet off of the trees as it moved, each strike sending a shower of loose bark flying as it bounced off and propelled forward ever faster. Lance leaned forward into the bike willing it to speed up.

The creature abruptly stopped the chase. Coiling around the midsection of a tree it hissed out a long piercing cry that struck both boys as incredibly erie. Lance glanced back over his shoulder to confirm that they were no longer being followed. "Hah, eat my dust alien space worm!" He shouted confidently. Keith felt uneasy, the thunder he had heard earlier seemed closer. It was almost deafening and one could feel the pressure of it in the air. Before he had a chance to say something the forest came to an end. The change happened so quickly it caught them both off guard and Lance had no chance to apply any flying maneuvers. They careened off of a cliff and found themselves falling into a deep abyss.

It looked like there was a hole in the planet wide enough to put eight Castles side by side and incalculably deep. From every direction rivers flowing out of the jungle poured into this hole. The air was filled with cool sprays of water the massive waterfalls churned into this deep pit. There was no chance to scream or call for help, there was no way to even hear each other. The seemed weightless as they free-falled into the pit. Keith closed his eyes and braced himself, holding tightly onto Lance as they dove straight down into the dark and tormentalous waters. The rumble of the waterfalls filled his head as the cold darkness swallowed them whole.


	4. Chapter 4

Water spurted from Keith's mouth as he finally breached the surface. Lungs burning he gasped for fresh air, accidentally dipping below the water again before he steadied his treading and was able to keep his head up. Water streamed from his helmet and ran over his eyes, which he furiously wiped away. It was dark, but as he let his eyes adjust he began to pick out features of the cavern. The waterfall had caught Keith in its deadly whirlpool and tossed him about like a lost sock in the laundry before finally releasing him into a black pool of water under the cliffs somewhere behind the waterfall. The roar of the falls still echoed in Keith's ears; as he turned to look at where he came from he could see the impenetrable curtain of water a ways behind him. The cavern was large, obviously the work of water eroding the rock over a millennia or possibly even longer. Keith could make out an outcropping of some sort protruding from the back of the cave and began to swim towards it.

As he swam Keith noticed a familiar white hood floating just under the surface of the water a few feet away. "Lance?" Keith called out, his voice echoing off of the damp cave walls as he surged forward. Fear gripped his stomach as his hand brushed the fabric and pulled the hood towards him. Empty.

Keith shouted again, his panicked eyes frantically searching the waters surface. Not sensing anything he continued on his path towards the back of the cave. Still holding unto the soaked empty jacket Keith pulled himself up unto the rock shelf. Water began to pool underneath him as Keith threw the jacket down and began to strip himself of excess clothing which was now rendered heavy by the weight of the water. The pile of his shoes, belt and jacket quickly joined Lance's jacket. Removing his helmet Keith tipped it over the edge of the outcropping and watched the stream of water flow from it. Unfettered with excess weight Keith stood again and surveyed the inky black deep water again. "Lance!" He shouted and stood dripping and uncertain of what to do next. The sound of dripping water and the waterfalls in the distance filled the cavern. He ran his hand through his hair brushing the wet strands from his face.

Keith waited for a frustrating eternity, heart pounding in his ears. At last a splash broke the surface! Without hesitation Keith jumped back into the inky black water. The tan hand that had breached the surface sunk quickly again. Keith spurred himself on and disappeared with a ripple as he dove downwards. For an earth shattering moment the cavern was again as it had been - still and serene. Straining against the waterlogged bundle in his arms Keith erupted from the darkness. Kicking furiously he wrapped one arm under Lance's shoulders and pulled him towards shore. It was no small effort to push Lance up unto the rocky ledge; the Blue Paladin was unresponsive and Keith nearly lost him to the depths of the pool again once or twice during the laborious process.

At long last Keith gave a great heave and managed to get his colleague on to land. Keith sat for a moment on the cold wet rock beside the boy, afraid to look, terrified at what he might see. In the dim light of the cavern it was hard for Keith to make out any defining features but one thing he did know was that the boy had not moved yet. Slowly Keith's hand reached for Lance's. His awkward fingers traced his palm to the wrist. The skin was wet and clammy, the same state as Keith's. Keith shivered slightly as he continued, noticing that now that he was out of the water that a damp cold had begun to set in on his body. Distracted by his own pulse racing in his ears Keith could not discern a heartbeat. Fear sinking deeper into his bones he grabbed the boy's wrist and began to shake his arm. "Lance? Lance, come on." He whispered into the dark. Unable to not face the facts any longer Keith shifted onto his knees, towering over the lifeless form before him. "Quite fooling around Lance." He ordered, hoping this was just a sick practical joke. He began to shake the Paladin by the shoulders. Still no response.

Keith felt as though ice was gripping him from the inside as he lowered himself over the body. Groping awkwardly with his hands he found Lance's mouth and placed his ear next to it. Listening for any breath Keith placed his other hand on the boy's chest. Still no movement. His mind began to whir, he knew what he had to do, but did he have the courage to do it? Even though he had dropped out of the cadet program Keith had made it as far as the basic first aid class, but he didn't recall paying attention all that much.

"You owe me big for this." Keith muttered as he found Lance's nose and plugged it with his left hand. Quickly, before he could bring himself to change his mind, Keith pressed his lips against the other boy's. In the darkness he missed slightly and clunked his teeth at first. Tilting Lance's chin up with his right hand he got a better lock on his lips and exhaled deeply into the other boy's mouth. Lance's chest rose and fell; feeling more confident Keith gave him another breath and then paused for a moment listening to see if there was any response. When nothing came he felt for Lance's chest and placed both hands against it, pressing downward as hard as he could he began the compressions. Keith lost count, he knew he was supposed to count, but he couldn't. Had he done 8, or 12? Should he keep going? "Dammit!" He cursed. Arms growing tired Keith stopped and went to give Lance another breath. He found the lips easier this time and gave a full breath - waited - and then went for the second.

As Keith blew into Lance's mouth again he felt a sudden surge of resistance. Water projected upwards into Keith's mouth and he sat up gagging and sputtering, thoroughly disgusted with the second hand drink. Lance began to cough and instinctively shifted his body to his side as his brain fired back up. For a tense moment both boys just sat there coughing up water and spit until it felt like their lungs threatened to spill out as well.

Keith sank back into a sitting position and held his head in his hands. His head ached as he came crashing down the adrenaline high of saving his friend. He was glad that the darkness and the general wet status of both boys hid the tears that stung his eyes. "What the hell Lance?" He finally uttered, the sharp tone of his voice echoing back from the damp rock walls.

Lance rolled over onto his stomach and brought himself to his knees. "What?" Lance felt as though a gallon of water had just been emptied from his head, his thoughts were foggy as he tried to gain his bearings while simultaneously processing words and remembering how to say them. His voice was scratchy and every breath was punctuated with another cough. He attempted to sit upright but cringed as a sharp stab of pain pierced his head and the ensuing wave of dizziness brought him back down to the ground.

Keith tempered his angry words. "You okay?" He asked in a softer tone.

"Maybe?" Lance laid back unto the rock and took stock of his body. Toes were intact, fingers too. He winced as he brushed some clingy wet hair back from his forehead. The area was sticky and warm. "I don't know. How about you?" He tried to remain casual despite the fact that nothing was in fact okay about the situation at all.

"I'm fine." Keith answered, glad at least that he had come out of the accident unscathed. "I have no idea where we are though." Keith stood up and walked barefoot back to where he had dropped his extra clothes. He flung Lance's sopping wet jacket in his general direction, it landed with a resounding splat on the rock next to him. "First things first, let's try to start a fire. Then I'll see about getting us out of here." Keith began to rummage in his side pockets looking for the box of matches he always carried. They may be soaking wet and unusable, but it was better to have hope than nothing else.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: I'm SO sorry that this chapter took so long! This time of year is always hectic with work. Hopefully I can get back into a regular routine soon. In side news - I'm planning a Voltron cosplay for next spring. Is anyone else planning a cosplay? I'm going to do Shiro in the space armor, can't wait._

* * *

"Anything yet?" Shiro was piloting his lion over a large patch of dense jungle. It had been several hours since Keith and Lance had left on their little excursion. When the paladins did not return and could not be reached via intercom the search and rescue mission began. The castle's scanners were damaged from their last battle and Coran had not been able to repair them yet; the the lions were spreading out to look for the missing boys. Hunk had rigged a short range scanner that sniffed out the communicator signal in their helmets, but considering they couldn't raise anyone on their helmets Shiro wondered how effective it would be.

"Negative. I'm not finding anything." More than being worried Pidge was irritated with their teammates stupidity. _I should be helping with the ship repairs._ They grumbled to themselves. Pidge was careful to keep their annoyance out of their voice. A ping on the screen in front of them nearly startled Pidge out of their seat. "No, wait. I've got something." Pidge narrowed their eyes to stare at the blinking icon the screen. Only one signal?

Shiro urged the Black Lion into a turn and began to speed in the direction that Pidge had started their search on. "On my way. Hunk?"

"Yep, yeah, on my way." Due to it's size Yellow was less graceful than Black in its turn radius, but the moment Hunk heard that Pidge had found something he pushed Yellow to the max. Hunk was beyond worried. Lance had been his best friend since they started classes at the garrison. Sure, Lance was always dragging him along on wild and stupid adventures, and sure, Hunk got his share of trouble for those adventures, but Hunk would not trade that friendship for the world. Hunk was still hoping that Lance was pulling some elaborate prank, only this time no one would probably be laughing.

Hunk arrived shortly after Shiro and found both the leader and the Green Paladin already on the ground. Hunk wasted no time disembarking, nearly tripping over himself as he did so. Hunk felt the warmth leave his body as he stared at what they had found. With a solemn look on his face Shiro turned to face him, a familiar blue and white helmet cradled in his hands. "W-where are they?" Hunk stuttered as he reached out and took the helmet. As he held it close to his chest he could still smell the scent of Lance's unwashed hair clinging to the lining.

"Any luck?" Hunk nearly dropped the helmet as he heard the echo of Allura's voice his own helmet and the one in his hands.

"We found Lance's helmet, but no sign of the boys." Shiro reported, his chest tightening as he spoke. The kernel of fear in his heart was beginning to sprout, but he had to remain calm for the sake of the team. Shiro felt partly responsible for this - he had given Keith the permission to leave the castle, and he had essentially ordered Lance to go with. If anything had happened to either of them...Shiro had to consciously relax his hands, he had made such a tight fist that it nearly hurt. "We'll keep searching." He said with the determination that he was known for.

Pidge busied themselves by searching the area. Adjusting the glasses on their face they found an impression in the grass, most likely from setting the bike down. A little ways from the broken grass Pidge's nose caught a stench most foul. "Ew, what is that?" They plugged their nose as they examined a thick black ooze that had splattered on some leaves. Carefully Pidge poked the ooze with a stick, it was vicious, almost like tar, but smelled at least three times as bad.

The drops of ooze appeared to follow a line. Pidge followed the trail across the clearing to one of the tall trees. A few feet up on the tree there was a scar where bark had been rubbed off, and in this patch was a smudge of black goo. Looking several trees forward Pidge noticed a similar marking, followed by another in what appeared to be a zigzag pattern.

"Well, let's continue to spread out. Maybe we can pick up Keith's signal near by." Shiro stopped to give Hunk a comforting pat on the shoulder. The Yellow Paladin was being brave, but the more he focused on his friend's helmet the closer to tears he appeared to be.

"Wait." Pidge spoke up and gestured for the others to come over to where they were standing. "I don't know what made this...but it looks like some sort of track."

Shiro covered his mouth and nose with the palm of his hand as he approached. "What on earth could make a stench like this?" Hunk made a similar sentiment as he came towards them.

"This is not earth, so I don't know. But I say we follow it." Pidge delivered their judgement of the situation, but looked up at Shiro for guidance. The young man squinted his eyes for a moment as though deep in thought before he nodded acceptance. This was probably the best lead they had at the moment.

* * *

"This is such a pain."

"Excuse me?" Lance was slightly out of breath and annoyed with his partner. "As I recall it you were the one that wanted to go on this little 'breath of fresh air' in the first place." Lance furrowed his brow. Coldly he jerked her arm away from Keith's shoulder and chose to lean against the cold, damp cavern wall instead. "I'm also the one who wanted to stay back there and wait for someone to find us." Exhausted Lance slid down the wall and sat on the hard ground. He rested his head in his hand, unable to ignore the pulsing headache that plagued him since he woke up. Standing up and moving around was definitely was making it worse, but either out of malice or some sense of sadism Keith refused to let him rest very long.

"And just how long were you expecting to wait?" Keith squared his shoulders, veiling his temper. He was giving Lance a little leeway with his attitude; the Blue Paladin had a nasty gash on his forehead and Keith could only imagine what pain he was going through. "Besides, I can't leave you be, not when you're like this." Keith held his makeshift torch close enough to Lance's blood stained face to see the small smile on Lance's lips as he sat down next to him.

"Aww, you do care."

Keith felt his cheeks stinging hot with embarrassment as he thrust the stick of wood into Lance's hand. "Make yourself useful and hold this." He demanded. Lance curiously took the torch and held it in both hands as Keith reached for another stick he had stuck in his belt loop. After searching the rocky beach where the cavern met the pool Keith had lucked out in finding some pieces of driftwood. They were not completely dry, but with a little coaxing they could still burn. Pocket knife in hand Keith began to cut into the end of the stick, creating a bit of feathering of the fibers. Reaching into one of the pouches on his side he pulled out the hand sanitizer bottle he always carried. His survival habits were really starting to come into handy. They had used all of the matches to get the first fire started and Keith wanted to get the second torch going before it burned out completely. He liberally poured the alcohol based cleanser into the notches he had carved on the stick just as torch in Lance's hand began to flicker and dim. Wasting no time Keith guided Lance's hand to bring the torches together.

Both boys found themselves holding their breath as the dying torch flickered. For a moment they seemed to be alone in the dark tunnel. Keith had insisted they explore what they could. If they got lost they could always go back, so far the tunnel had not branched out and they most likely could not get lost, though they had been walking for what seemed like hours and neither relished the idea of going back in complete darkness. Lance leaned forward and began to breathe gently on the embers, his hot breath brushing against Keith's knuckles. A small flame began to grab the alcohol and burst to life in a brilliant rush of light. Keith leaned back with relief, a small smile on his face as he sighed and removed the helmet from his head and brushed the dark sweaty hair back from his face. Despite the fact that communications seemed to not be working - perhaps they were too deep underground - Keith decided against leaving the helmet behind. He glanced at the wound on Lance's head in the new light again. At least one of them needed to stay safe.

Placing the helmet back on his head Keith stood up and adjusted the jacket which he had tied around his waist. Despite the cold in their subterranean locale Keith preferred the goose pimples of the chill on his arms compared to the weight of the heavy wet jacket. "Ok, enough rest. Let's keep going." Keith took the torch from Lance's hand as he grabbed the other boy by the arm and began to pull upwards.

Lance resisted his pull. "C'mon Keith, just a little longer?" Lance felt like someone had lodged a screwdriver in his temple. At least when he wasn't in motion the pain was bearable.

"No. We keep moving." Keith gave Lance's arm another insistent tug. With a cry that was partly moan partly sigh Lance allowed himself to be pulled up. Lance reached out with his other hand to steady against the wall as he stood. He paused as he felt his fingers graze some deep groves.

"Hey, shine that light over here." Keith obliged and both boys studied the wall where Lance's hand was resting on some grooves that appeared to be carved into the rock. "What is this?" Lance asked as he shook his other arm from Keith and used both hands to feel out the carvings. Mouth gaping with awe Keith brushed Lance's hands away from the wall and stared intently at the shapes. They seemed very familiar.

"Do you remember...when we found the blue lion?" Keith looked at his companion, wondering if he had come to the same conclusion.

"How could I forget?" Lance crossed his arms and took a step back to more clearly see the picture. There was some abstract humanoid shapes scattered on the wall, but their attention was drawn to the large depiction of lion figure in the center. Keith held out his hand and touched the wall. Gasping he quickly withdrew it as the carvings on the wall began to come alive with a red glow. Lance's face lit up with excitement as he grabbed Keith's hand and forced it back against the wall. "No way…" Both boys uttered in excitement.

* * *

"The trail comes to a dead end here." Pidge reported from back in the cockpit of the Green lion. The trail of the black goo had originally appeared to go in a straight direction, but just as quickly as it had began it stopped. "What now?" Green raised it's head to look back at the two lions who were following it.

Shiro sat with his hands on the controls silently contemplating the options. They had already spent two hours looking for the boys, and that started about four hours after the lunch they had all shared. They had managed to find Lance's helmet but no other clues or signs as to where the missing paladins could be. At least when they had found the helmet they were assured they were close, or at least the right direction. Or they could still be totally off. It was a large planet, damage to long range scanners and the dense jungle was making this a search for a needle in a haystack. On one hand the boys could be completely fine and safe and would make their way back on their own. On the other...Shiro shook his head. He was unable to think about alternate possibilities.

"Darkness will be falling soon." Even Princess Allura's voice sounded tired as she broadcasted the communication to the Paladins. She had stayed behind to coordinate the search efforts and assist Coran with the ship. Shiro knew that given the choice she would be right out there with them, probably machete in hand knocking through the jungle. _The Princess doesn't know her limits._ Shiro was glad he insisted she stay behind this time. Though she would never admit it he knew how much energy the wormhole jumps took from her. "You should probably head back to the Castle soon." Allura sighed again, she couldn't hide her disappointment.

"I'm not going back." Hunk set his jaw and turned Yellow to look directly at Shiro. The lion's tail swished back and forth in the air, clearly even the robot was agitated. "Not without Lance, or Keith. I'll stay out all night if I need too."

Shiro closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He can't say he didn't expect that reaction from the Yellow Paladin. Hunk cared about others, sometimes to a fault. "Pidge, is there anything else on the scanners?" The Green lion shook its head in response. Shiro looked back towards Hunk and the yellow lion. "I'm sorry Hunk, we've done our best. We don't know what's in this jungle at night. For now I say we fall back and have faith in our friends."

"You can't be serious!" Hunk admonished, clearly positioning his lion between Shiro and the way back to the castle. "That's exactly why we need to keep looking! We do not know what's out here, our friends could be in danger."

"Don't you think I know that?!" Shiro immediately regretted letting his frustration slip to the surface as anger. "..but I don't know what else you want me to do." He admitted in a softer tone.

Hunk didn't know what to say. When his voice finally responded it was laced with anger and the threat of tears. "You're the leader." He turned gruffly and began to walk, albeit slowly, back in the direction of the Castle.

Pidge was even more hesitant to call off the search. Their mind whirled searching for anything that they could have missed. "Princess, are the Red and Blue lions still in their hangars?"

"Y-yes, they are." Allura responded, not sure what Pidge was suggesting. The Yellow lion paused in its retreat to look back at Green. Shiro held his breath hopefully. What was Pidge on to?

"Shiro, in the past we've seen the lions are capable of acting on their own, especially when their paladins are in danger...what if…"

Shiro's eyes lit up as he understood what they were hinting at. "Allura, open the hangars."


End file.
